Birth pool or just bathtub?

[BanditaMamacita]

I noticed a lot of people are planning on renting/buying a birthpool for their delivery, and I was wondering what the reason behind it was. I was just assuming I was just deliver in my bathtub. Is it just that its bigger?

[Serenyd]

Originally Posted by BanditaMamacita

I noticed a lot of people are planning on renting/buying a birthpool for their delivery, and I was wondering what the reason behind it was. I was just assuming I was just deliver in my bathtub. Is it just that its bigger?

I tried laboring in a regular bathtub last time and it was not very comfortable. I think it really needs to be deeper to get the analgesic effect.

[Marlet]

There are a lot of reasons. In general, a standard size tub isn't going to be large enough. Off the top of my head though:

*often have a water heater so once the water goes cooler than the mom wants you don't have to keep putting in hot water (you can often fill it in advance and put a lid on and then turn the heater on once you are in labour)
*handles on the inside and outside for extra support/variety of positions
*deeper so you can float if you want or just change it up position wise more often
* have liners so for those who don't like the idea of having birth stuff in their tub it's conveinent.

That said, DD2 was born in our bathtub. We had an old clawfoot tub that was super deep. I loved it. While my tub now isn't as deep I'll still be using that. It's easier for me to drain as well since I'm in an apartment with limited space.

If your tub is deep enough go for it! I wouldn't attempt it in a shallow tub (and I'm tiny and can handle that) since a lot of women seem to like as much of a water covering as possible and get irritated when there isn't.

[chi_mama]

the birth tub I used had a padded bottom which was great b/c I labored mostly on my knees which would have been uncomfortable in my tub.
Also we were able to put the birthing tub in the living room, it would have been tough to have my MW and dh fit into our bathroom next to the tub.

[BanditaMamacita]

At the birth center where i delivered my first two, i labored and delivered in an extra deep, slightly wider regular tub, so the hardness doesn't big me... And my tub is 6 inches deeper than standard, so that part should be fine. I guess the only part i'm really worried about is that, for delivery, i felt most comfortable sitting up with my feet pushing off of the side of the tub.... super effective pushing once i found that position. But my tub is prolly too narrow to pull that off. So i'm wondering if the rental makes more sense....

[NettleTea]

Bathtub cannot compare to birth pool, really. There is sooo much room to move around in a birth pool. And with a birth pool it is possible to almost completely immerse yourself (which I think would have to provide a lot more comfort than water up to just the waist, but that's just my thoughts). Unless one has an exceptionally large bathtub a birth pool is going to provide much more than a regular bathtub can.

Also, I found it pretty much impossible to birth in the bathtub (not possible to squat and still be in water and pretty much no room to be in the positions that I felt I needed to be in). So, as a result I ended up not having a waterbirth. That's my only complaint about the birth though.

[Marlet]

Originally Posted by BanditaMamacita

At the birth center where i delivered my first two, i labored and delivered in an extra deep, slightly wider regular tub, so the hardness doesn't big me... And my tub is 6 inches deeper than standard, so that part should be fine. I guess the only part i'm really worried about is that, for delivery, i felt most comfortable sitting up with my feet pushing off of the side of the tub.... super effective pushing once i found that position. But my tub is prolly too narrow to pull that off. So i'm wondering if the rental makes more sense....

Try it out. I was able to do something similar to that.

[pjs]

My regular tub was way too small- I could barely fit let alone move around and actually have the water cover my belly.

[Ella-6]

BanditaMamacita, sounds like you could pull it off if you made the bottom of the bath softer, more cushioned somehow... This is something I've been wondering about too.

Our bath tub is as large as a small spa and we also have an outdoor rainwater, solar-heated spa. So I'm thinking hiring a birth pool might be a bit excessive in our case.

[lzbthcox]

I had considered using our tub, but I don't think it is deep enough. I wouldn't be able to lean or anything and stay covered at all.

To make the bottom softer, you may want to use a folded towel or two. Just put it on the bottom and that would be better cushion than the hard tub, but wouldn't float.

[deymm]

My bathtub is in no way big enough, so we bought an inflatable pool.